Process for breaking petroleum emulsions



' April 21, 1931. c. H. M. ROBERTS ,30

PROCESS FOR BREAKING PETROLEUM EMULSIONS F iled Jan. 24, 1927 lllllrll I 35 slifiiciently great Patented Apr. 21, 1931" warren sraras I aeeaeee CLAUDIUS H. M. ROBERTS, OF EL DQRADO, ARKANSAS, ASSIGNOR, BY- MESNE ASSIGN- OF WEBSTER GBQVES, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION MENTS, TO TRET OLITE COMPANY OF MISSOURI raocnss roa BREAKING- rnraonnum unrutsrons Application filed January 24, 1927'. Serial No. 163,188,

This invention relates to processes of the kind that are used for breaking petroleum emulsions of the water-in-oil type, such as cut oil, roily oil, emulsified oil, B. S.-

through which the emulsion passed after the homogemzing operation. 4 I have discovered, in practising such a process, that better results are attained if an inert gaseous medium is incor orated in the emulsion prior to subjecting t e emulsion to homogenization. Accordingly, the object 0 my present invention is to provide anv improved process for breaking petroleum emulsrons.

While I am not able to fully explain the reason why the emulsion will break more easily and eflfectively if it is subjected to such treatment prior .to homogenization, I believe" it is due'to the fact that t e inert gaseous me-,

dium which is incorporated in the emulsion imparts considerable compressibility to the mass and alters the physical characteristics of the oil, with the result that when the mass passes through the homogenizing device a pressure difierential is attained to insure the water droplets of the a emulsion being reduced greatly in diameter and also spaced relatively near together.

Any suitable inert gaseous medium may 40 .be used, such as compressed air'at a temperature low enough to prevent oxidation of hydrocarbon material so that the compressed air is actually, an inert gas, aminert gasunder pressu e, such as carbon dioxide gas, or

the natural' ases that occur in wells inwhich petroleum e ulsions are produced, and various, means ca be used to incorporate said aseous medium in the emulsion. I

ereinillustrated an apparatusfor practisindg fio'my process that comprises a means for-ad ing water or facilitate thethat is reliedemulsion and which con-.

' sifying .the said apparatus, A

for adding have" salt water to the emulsion, a device consisting of a valve arhomogenizing line through which the emulranged in the sion flows, demulsifying agent to the emulsion, but I wish it to be understood that it is immaterial and a means fonadding a chemical whether or not water or salt water isadded to the emulsion, whether the homogenizing device consists of a valve, a colloidal mill, or other device, and whether acentriiuge', electrleal dehydrator, heatin apparatus or other means is used in lace 'o a chemical demulagent to break the emulsion or effect the separation of the component parts of the emulsion.

Figure l of the drawing'sis a side'elevational view, partly trating an apparatus that can be used for practisingmy process.,. 7 a Figure 2 is a top plan view of the portion of apparatus comprising the pumps and the gasinlet means; and

Figure 3 is a side elevationalyview of the homogenizing device.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate deslgnates a flow .line the emulsion is forced by a through which draws the emulsion from a pump B that source of supply, homogenizing the emulsion or subjecting it to intensive agitation of such a character as to simultaneously decrease the diameter of the water droplets and their distance apart and make said droplets of substantially uniform size, D designates a pump-that can be=used water or salt waterto the emulsion if the emulsion is of'such a character that the treatment of same will be facilitated by the addition of water, E desi nates a device known commercially as a ret-o-lizer that is used for adding a chemical demulsifying 1 agent such, for example, as a water-softening agent or a inodified fatty acid or the. salt or ester thereof, to the emulsion so as to cause the emulsion to break permitted to remain in a quiescent state, F designates a heater through which the emulsion is passed after the homogenizing operation,"G designates a settling tank in which .the emulsion 1s"; permitted to "remain in-ta when it 'is thereafter..

in vertical section, illus- G designates a device for a and pressure.

- reak, and H designates astorage tank for relativel desired, the device E can when the mass passes and tend to remain uiescent state so as to cause theemulsion to receivin the good oil, and I designates a pipe'lead ing from a source of gas supply that is used for introducing a gaseous medium into the flow line A at a point in'advance of the homogenizing device C, so that a gaseous medium will be incorporated in the emulsion 'before the emulsion is subjected to the homogenizing operation.

Any suitable kind of a homogenizing device can be used, the device C herein shown consisting of a valve provided with a tapered valve member 1 arranged with its peripheral ed e spaced slightly away from atapered vaIve seat 2, a stem 3 attached to said valve member 1 and a weighted lever 4 that acts on said stem and holds the valve member 1 in sufliciently close proximity to its seat to pro duce an orifice of such restricted area that the emulsion will be subjected to intensive agitation and the gaseous medium in the emulsion will be compressed and thereafter expanded through said orifice, thereby causing the size of the water droplets tobe reduced and said water droplets spaced near together. In the apparatus herein i lustrated the Tret-o-lizer E or other means that is used to add or introduce the chemical demulsifying agent into the flow line A is arranged in the flow line at a point beyond the. homogenizin device C, but if %)e arranged in the flow line at a point in advance of the homogenizing device. The pipe I that introduces the gas or gaseous medium into the flow line can lead from any suitablesource of supply, the termsg'as or gaseous medium, as herein used, meaning a substance which existsin the gaseous state under ordinary temperature In practising m process I duce a gaseous me ium of th mentioned into the flow line A through a supply pipe I, said .gaseous medium becoming incorporated in the emulsion before the emulsion reaches ,the homogenizin device 0. In

assing through the restricte orifice of. said omogenizing device said gaseous medium will become compressed and thereafter expanded, thus roducing voids in the mass which permit t e waterdroplets to separate separated or out-of contact with each other. v

' If the emulsion is of such a character that prefer to introe kind previously the treatment of same will be facilitated by the addition of water, then water or salt water is'introduced into the flow line A D at a oint in advance of the homogenizi'n device The volume of water so employed will vary with the character of the emulsion being treated, but in a general .way will be eguivalent to about 20% Q emulsion with which it is incorporated,

although in some less water might by-the pump to 50% of the volume be advantageously employed and at times as much' as an equal volume of water and emulsion can be handled most effectively, so as taf give the most economical demulsifying e ect.

'A suitable chemical demulsif in preferably a modified castor oil bod is introduced into the flow line A either before or after the emulsion has homogenizing device, it eing preferable to introduce the demulsifying agent into the flow line at a point in advance of the homogenizing device C, so as to vfying agent being distributed uniformly through the emulsion, due to the homogenizing action to which theemulsion is subjected. The treated emulsion is thereafter passed through a heater F, which is usually maintained at a temperature varying from 120 F. to 190 F. Subsequently, the emulsion is introduced into a settling tank G, wherein agent,

passed through the insure the demulsiit is permitted to remain in a quiescent state, with the result that the emulsion will break tling tank G into the storage tank H, as indi- V cated'in Figure 1 of the drawings.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and des're to secure by Letters Patent is: v

1. A process for breaking petroleum emulsions, characterized b incorporating an inert gaseous medium in the emulsion, and thereafter subjectin the emulsion to homogenization and to t 'e action of a demulsifying means.

' 2. A process for breaking a petroleum emulsion, characterized by incorporatin an .inert gaseous medium in the emulsion, ad ing water to the emulsion, then homogenizin the mixture, and finally subjecting t e em to the action of a demulsifying means. 7 3. 'A process for breaking a troleum emulsion, characterized by intro ucing an inert gaseous medium into a flow line throu h which an emulsion is traveling, causing t e sion 7 emulsion to thereafter pass through a homog- J enizing device in said flow line, and subse- A quently subjectingthe emulsion to the action tion, and thereafteradding a chemi do -muleifying agent to the emulsion.

6. A process for breaking a petroleum emulsion, characterized by in ecting an inert gaseous. medium into a flow line through which an emulsion is-traveling, causmg-t emulsion to ass through a homogenizing device in the ow line arranged at a point beyond the point where the inert gaseous memain in a quiescent state.

' emulsion,

'the flow line at a point beyond the dium was introduced into the flow line, in-- demulsifying agent into 7 oint where the homogenizing device's located, and finally introducing the treated emulsion into a settling tank wherein it is permitted to retroducing a chemical 7. A process for breaking 9.

characterized by pumping an emulsion through a flow line, introducing an inert gaseous medium into said flow line, adding water to the emulsion, passing the emulsion througha homogenizing device after the inert gaseous'medium has been incorporated in the emulsion, subsequently adding a chemical demulsifying agent to the emulsion while it is travelingthrough the flow line,and finally introducing the emulsion into a settling tank. 8. In a rocess for breaking petroleum emulsions, t e step of incorporating an inert gaseous medium in the emulsion prior to treating of same ald thenJhomogenizing the mixture.

memos H. M, ROBERTS.

petroleum .he emulsion to effect the breaking v 

